Durban - A convicted murderer from Chatsworth who has been working at a Durban school under a different name and tutoring schoolchildren on the side, while on parole, has been charged with the rape of two girls, a 7-year-old and 13-year-old.
But the 32-year-old accused, who made headlines in the high-profile murder of a prominent Durbanite several years ago, failed to appear in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
He had apparently not responded when his name was called at Westville Prison, where he is being held in custody.
The court ordered that he now be “requisitioned” from prison for his next court appearance.
The accused, who cannot be named until he has pleaded, was a teenager when he confessed to the murder of a well-known figure in 2002. He served eight years of a 20-year sentence, was paroled in 2010, and, until recently, was working as a teacher at a local school under a different name.
According to the charge sheet, the rape offences took place in Chatsworth in August.
A reliable police source told the Daily News that members of a specialist unit had received complaints from two families. The parents were unaware of the man’s past.
They said he had been giving their children extra lessons at his and their homes when, it is alleged, the crimes took place. The children were subsequently taken to RK Khan Hospital to be examined by the district surgeon.
The police went to the man’s Chatsworth home on October 23 to arrest him after charges were lodged. But they were told he had fled. His mother told police he had been living in the Northern Cape.
The source said he returned a week later and handed himself to a Department of Correctional Services’ parole office. He has been held in custody since, after allegedly breaking the conditions of his parole.
When asked by magistrate Dorcas Khuzwayo on Thursday about the whereabouts of the accused who was supposed to be in the dock, State prosecutor Owen Subban said: “The accused is not responding to his name on the court roll when the prisoners are asked to leave in the morning and as a result he has failed to appear.”
The unimpressed magistrate asked for the man to be specifically requested from prison and warned that he would have to appear at his next court date.
The man had been working as a teacher at a Durban school until recently under a different name. His contract with the school had recently been terminated.
The matter was adjourned to later this month.
Daily News